While the Tigers are going head-to-head with opponents in Death Valley, Mike the Tiger is going costume-to-costume with rival mascots online each week.The Capital One Mascot Challenge puts 12 university mascots in a weekly contest for football fans to vote on a favorite. The most popular mascots will make it to the playoffs at the end of the 11-week regular season.The contest started at the beginning of the NCAA football season.On Tuesday, Mike the Tiger trailed his competitor for this week — the Bearcat of Cincinnati — by fewer than 100 votes.Mike has a 1-1 record leading into the third week of the competition, according to Student Government director of athletics Melissa Hart. Mike lost to Boomer of Oklahoma by 96 votes during the first week of competition. During the second week, Mike bounced back, receiving nearly 30,000 votes in his victory against Superfrog of Texas Christian University.Mike ranks fifth in total votes.Last year was Mike’s first year in the competition, and he finished seventh, Hart said.At the end of the 11-week competition, the eight most popular mascots will advance to the playoff rounds.Each school’s mascot was awarded $5,000 to be used in funding scholarships in the school’s mascot program. The winner of the competition will receive an additional $15,000 for the school’s mascot program.The winner will be announced at the Capital One Bowl on Jan. 1.—-Contact Xerxes A. Wilson at [email protected]